Week #4 Marathon Training

Hello summer! I’m loving the lovely sunshine and beautiful mornings. Getting up stupidly early to run is actually quite easy as the sun is already shining and it’s fairly warm outside.

This week has been really tough. After Endure 24 I had Monday and Tuesday off running as I just needed some down time. I had a great sports massage with Kyle which really helped loosen things up. Thankfully my hip hasn’t played up again either. It’s now 12 weeks from Berlin marathon and I am wondering for how long I will go until I get injured again – I really hope things go plain sailing. Who knows? All you can be is sensible with warming up, stretching, regular foam rolling, massages and strength training.

Wednesday – I had planned to do four easy miles but as I started I found I was quite happy to run a bit faster so I call this a “paced run”. I’m finding it easier to start slower and get faster which is always good I guess.

Thursday – 10k tempo run. This was a brilliant run. My legs felt fresh and I felt good. My plan was one mile warm-up, two miles tempo, one mile easy then two final tempo miles.

To cool down I walked Alfie afterwards. He’s loving it at the moment as I walk him in the morning before I run at stupidly o’clock (usually 5.30am), then when I get back from my run if I have enough time I’ll walk him again to cool down. Pampered pooch!

Friday – a much needed recovery run. My legs felt very heavy and I felt tired. This was the third consecutive day of getting up around 5.10am.

Saturday – Ben and me headed to Basingstoke to do the Basingstoke parkrun with my friend who’s just gotten into running (the one I did the Race for Life with) and her husband and son.

In my plan it was a speedy 5k but as I had now run three days before I wasn’t sure how well this would go. I just thought put in some effort and see how it goes.

It was actually quite a tough course. There were two laps and a sneaky gradual incline you had to do twice. But it wasn’t anything crazy hard. There were over 300 people there! And lots of speedsters. I was lucky to come 4th lady with a time of 21:22, which I was chuffed with. It’s the fastest parkrun I’ve done since November. Fairly depressing but I’m pleased regardless.

There’s Ben in the red shirt

Ben found the run quite tough. His ankle was playing up and it didn’t help that he’d had a late night the night before and hadn’t run properly all week. My friend got a PB of just over 28 minutes 😀

We all had a good time though and had coffee afterwards with our friends. So chuffed they’re getting into running!

Sunday – fifth day running in a row. I hope I don’t look back at this week as a mistake week. I was concerned I was running so many consecutive days but I needed to get the mileage increasing (famous last words…). I did feel OK for all the runs and afterwards though. I kept this run slow and easy.

But it did feel like a lot of hard work at about six miles. My endurance has definitely suffered due to my lack of long runs. This distance was a distance I used to find very easy, but yesterday it was back to basics. I spent a long time foam rolling and stretching afterwards, as well as doing a quick bit of core work and clams.

Later we went shopping and I was shattered at the end of the day; I had to have a nap! Ten miles is definitely not a distance my body is used to anymore sadly. Work in progress!

14 Replies to “Week #4 Marathon Training”

Our club vests cause a bit of chaffage in the heat and I sweat loads when I’m running which never helps. At hte London marathon I vaselined up before the start but was so thankful for the St. John’s ambulance guys around mile 19 handing out more vaseline. The worst is when you haven’t realised it’s chaffed and then jump straight into the shower after a run…OWIE!
Well done on fourth lady. Your splits for all your runs this week look so consistent. My fingers are crossed that injury stays away!Mary recently posted…Catching up with people

For my first race I thought those Ambulance guys were high 5-ing people…nope providing a valuable service! Thank god I didn’t go for it!
YES the shower is SO SO painful afterwards!!AnnaTheApple recently posted…Week #4 Marathon Training

I would kill for that 5K time! I haven’t done one since 2009 (!!!) as I hate short, fast distances. I’ve been recommended focusing on 5Ks, as they’re the best distance for my leg once/if it improves. The longer the distance, the worse it is for me…it’s a shame I absolutely hate 5Ks though! They’re more painful than marathons…I don’t enjoy the ‘run till you puke’ sensation you need in order to run a decent race at that distance.

You always look so confident when you’re running 🙂 You make it look easy – I wish I had that kind of form and ease with running.

Underarms are by far the worst place for chafing for me as well…I can’t even use Bodyglide or Vaseline because neither of them are vegan products, so I’m stuck with a whole lot of raw skin instead. I guess that’s the one upside to not being able to run much at the moment: my underarms look somewhat normal for once.

My favourite strength training move is a tie between the clean and press and the hang-clean. Snatches are great too (I like using kettlebells) if you can get over the name of them 😉

I hate 5ks too. Though I hate 10ks more as they go on longer. It’s not until I get past 10 miles that I start to enjoy the race, because like you said it’s that real hard core effort level that is just so horrific. I’m sure though that if you did a 5k you’d get a very good time as you’re marathon times are amazing. It’s just about keeping your head down and holding on.
My strength training is so pitiful in comparison to yours. I don’t even know what those are!!!AnnaTheApple recently posted…Week #4 Marathon Training

I am finding it so much easier to get up early and go for a run when the weather is like this. There is jut something so awesome about being up before everyone else and it being so peaceful. The best time of day to run I think. Only in the summer though. Early morning winter runs suck!Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy recently posted…2 Ingredient Healthy Cookies

Yes exactly that – the peace of a morning. The day hasn’t really started but you’re out there doing your thing. I love it. Winter is so soul destroying when it feels like it’s the middle of the night when you get up early 🙁AnnaTheApple recently posted…Week #4 Marathon Training

Being out in the morning is so lovely- on Sunday I was up early a Andy was off to Silverstone, so I went out on a run and it was just great to be outside while most people were still sleeping!
I use body glide (I think it is called that) around my sport bra as the straps rub a bit, but I tend to wear vests with high arm holes, and capris, so I don’t have skin rubbing against skin.Maria @ runningcupcake recently posted…Mangoes on the move with Urban Fruit

I love the early morning run experience. So peaceful and you’re not eating into sofa time in the evening 😉
I do have Body Glide but I just forget to use it. Lesson well and truly learnt.AnnaTheApple recently posted…Week #4 Marathon Training

Nice week training, lots of good runs in there! I’ve never had a problem with chafe before, until I did the ultra in shorts in pissing down rain for 31/35.5 miles, the shorts rubbed my inner thigh and it was the most painful thing ever!Lauren (@PoweredbyPB) recently posted…Berlin Marathon Training Week 4